Related Tags:

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – So it looks like Manti Te’o might have been “Catfished,” huh?

The Notre Dame linebacker — this year’s Heisman Trophy runner-up, expected to go in the first round of the NFL draft — dealt with the death of his girlfriend for much of the Irish’s magical run to the BCS championship game.

“I would refer all of you, if you’re not already familiar with it, with both the documentary called ‘Catfish’ and the MTV show — which is a derivative of that documentary — and the sort of associated things you’ll find online and otherwise about ‘Catfish’ or ‘catfishing,'” Swarbrick said. “It is a scam that follows the exact arc of this. And it’s perpetrated with shocking frequency, for me — shocking as an older guy who’s not as versed in the online world.”

The term “catfish” is used to refer to someone who, using some form of social media, pretends to be somebody that they’re not via a false identity. “Catfishing” tends to be associated with fake online romances.

“Catfish” was a documentary film directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost in 2010. The film focused on Nev Schulman, who found that his “girlfriend,” with whom he engaged in an online relationship with, was in fact lying about who she really was.

Then in Nov. 2012, MTV began to air a show based on the documentary. “Catfish: The TV Show” is in fact hosted by Nev Schulman, and his role in the program is to investigate such hoaxes and suspicious situations.

Schulman is determined to get to the bottom of the matter, and on Wednesday night he tweeted: “I am working on finding out more about this @MTeo_5 #Catfish story. I have been in contact with the woman involved and will get the truth.”